Upholstery structure



p 9, 194.1, J. c. GORDON' 2,255,554-

UPHOLSTERY STRUCTURE Original Filed March 6, 1959 '2 v D F 6 INVENTOR.

JACK C. GORDON v ATTORNEY;

Patented- 4 2,255,554 I urnons'rnar srnucruau Jack 0. Gordon-Detroit, Mich, assignor to Allen Industries, Inc., Detroit,

Delaware Micln, a corporation of Original application March c, 1939, Serial no. 260,245. Divided and on; application min-on 1a, 1940, Serial No. $24,093

4 Claims. (01. l55--198) This invention relates generally to upholstery units such as arm rests for vehicle bodies and the like, and constitutes a division of my application flled March 6, 1939, bearing Serial No.

One of the essential objects of the invention is to provide a unit of this type that may be made from relatively low cost material but that has the valuable and advantageous characteristics of more expensive structures such as those formed from sponge or molded rubber.

Another object is to provide a unit'that has enhanced resiliency and a strong tendency to resume its original shape after deflection.

7 Another object is to provide a unit that is completely enveloped by a skin of latex or the like and that may, if desired. be reenforced by an open mesh fabric or other suitable material.

Other objects, advantages and novel details of construction of this invention will be made more apparent as this description proceeds. especially when considei'ed in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l'is a perspective view of an upholstery unit embodying my invention:

the body A and serves as a tie between the layers l and Ii at the edges thereof to bond the parts firmly together.

The fabric covering C is preferably an open mesh strip of suitable material such as tobacco cloth that adheres to the latex-coated upper surface of the upper layer Ill.

In the process of construction, the layers ll and i I are preferablydie cut from suitable sheets of cotton batting. If desired. either or both layers I ii and il may be coated with latex before being assembled. When the lower layer II is assembled with the upper layer II, the end portion I! of the lower layer is bent back so as to lie flat against the underside of the upper layer and against the upper side of the lower layer. Thus, there are three plies at one end of the structure with the end portion ll of the uppermost P projecting endwise beyondthe two lowerplies.

Figure 2 is an edge elevation of two piles of fibrous material which form the body portion of v the uni Figure 3 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the structure after an end portion of the lowermost layer has been return-bent;

Figure 5 is a sectional view through the threeply end portion of the assembly after the reenforcing fabric has been appliedto the'upp r surface thereof: I

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view through the unit after'it has been applied to a'rigidsupport or frame member and showing the fabric cover-- ing applied thereto.

Referring now to the drawing, A is the body, 3

is the skin coating of latex, and C is the fabriccovering of an upholstery unit embodying my invention.

As shown. the body A is elongated in form and comprises two layers II and II of fibrous materlal'such as cotton batting. Preferably the lower layer 1 I is longer than theupper layer It and has an end portion i2 return-bent against the lower surface of the upper layer so that. the bend it is short of the adjacent end it of the upper layer.

The opposite ends II and "of the layers are substantially flush with each other.

The assembly is then coated with latex so that all exposed surfaces and edges thereof are covered.

If desired, such coatings of latex may be subjected to warm air or heat in a suitable'oven (not shown) to expel moisture and to at least partially cure the latex. In fact, the assembly is provided with.an uninterrupted or continuous skin coating that constitutesan envelope therefor. The assembly may then be reenforced by the fabric 0 which is preferably egual in area to. the upper surface ofthe upper layer to. This fabric is bonded to the assembly by the latex coating B.

When the assembly is placed on a rigid support or frame member such as D of a vehicle body, .the three-ply end thereof is bent over the forward edge is of said support and is preferably drawn downwardly against the depending portion I! of the support, as illustrated in Figure s skin coating 13 of latex completely envelopes 6. A suitable covering 117- of fabric is then applied to theassembly and suitably anchored to the support D to hold the assembly in place. Where it is necessary the body A may be cut away at 20 before being enveloped with latex to accommodate any upstanding shoulder orprojection (not shown) of the support D. l

Thus, from the foregoing it will be apparent that the upholstery unit is a self-contained resilient cushion. Inasmuch as the skin coating B is applied after theflbrous body A is fashioned,v it will take the shape of the contour thereof and will hold this contour against permanent distortion. a I

What I claim as my invention is: 1. A self-contained arm rest unit having two preformed superposed elongated layers of unimpregnated fibrous material, the width of said of the layers serving gether.

layers being" substantially equal, one of said layers having an endwise extension return-bent between said layers at one end thereof and providing athree-ply structure'for a portion of: their length, an exposed surface of the other layer having a coating of latex and a reinforcing fabric adhering in' surface-to-surface relation thereto, the other exposedsurfaces of the layers being coated with latex, the latex at the edges to bond suchlayers to- 2. A self-contained arm rest unit having an elongated flurry laminated body and an uninterrupted resilient covering therefor,- the upper. lamina of the body being substantially straight throughout its length, the lower lamina of the body being straight from one end thereof to a point substantially midway its ends and having gether the fibrous material of adjacent laminae including the return-bent portion aforesaid.

its other end return-bent upon itself and bearing in surface-to-surface relation against the underside of the upper lamina, and the covering being a sticky adhesive substance tenaciously adhering tothe fibrous material on all exterior surfaces of 'the'body', the adhering covering at -the edgesbf'thebOdy serving to tie flexibly to- 25 3. A self-contained arm rest unit having two preformed superposed elongated layers .of unimpregnated ilbrousmaterial, one of said layers 4. n self-'contained'arm rest unit having aneiongated flufl'y laminated body provided with an uninterrupted adhering covering, one lamina of the body having an end portion thereof return-bent upon itself and bearing in surface-to surface relation against the adjacent lamina' intermediate the ends thereof, whereby a portion of said adjacent lamina projects endwise beyond said retum-bend the adhering covering at the edges of the body serving to tie flexibly together the fibrous material of adjacent laminaeincluding thereturn-bent portion aforesaid.

JACK C. GORDON. 

